True Love
by puRpLebLuSh017
Summary: She taught him the meaning of true love. [sasusaku]


**Insert Standard Disclaimer**

* * *

**True Love**

_Written by purpleblush017_

Uchiha Sasuke has always wondered. What is love?

Can it be seen by the naked eye? Can he touch it? Can he even hear it? Could it be felt? Had he known it all along, but was he just too blind, deaf and numb to feel its presence? Here he is, sitting beside a Cherry Blossom tree which was located on top of a hill. From that view, you could see a twinkling pond with white doves swimming in it as the other Sakura trees encircle the water, giving it a serene effect. Here he is, pondering what love really means.

He looks up at the sky covered with pink flowers as he leaned against the Sakura tree. The cool air seems to feel nice today and the sun's shine is warm and inviting. He closes his eyes. "What is true love?" he asks himself again. He had heard girls confess this eternal love to him millionths of time, yet he himself doesn't know its meaning. Maybe, he'd seen it. Maybe, he had heard it and even felt it, but the mere recognition of it wasn't just there. The lonely and hateful tragedy that happened to his family, his clan, his name made him an empty walking man, with no feelings at all.

Was it true love when his brother carried him when he sprained his ankle? Those big smiles of him and his older sibling, the care he poured and the gentleness Itachi made obvious while carrying him on his back were those actions of love? Or was it that time when his mother made him feel comfortable? When he felt despair, his mother cheered him up, or when his mother did everything for him? Was it when his father taught him the family's special technique and believed in him even though he was too young for the high ranked jutsu?

Maybe, was it the desperate attempts Naruto made to pull him out of Orochimaru's clutches? Or the time when he sat beside him and acted like nothing had happened when they went back to Konoha? Or the way he would grin at him and do anything in his power to make the Uchiha Sasuke smile? Was that it?

Or… was it those gentle warm little hands?

* * *

_They were inside a thirty two feet long, four sided room and even though it was freezing outside, the room was as hot as hell. Murmurs and whispers and snickers can be heard inside the room as the Hokage—Hatake Kakashi talks to the elders for a final decision which will seal Uchiha Sasuke's life._

_Sasuke didn't realize this but both of his teammates were more nervous than he is. They sat beside him in the front row of seemingly endless rows of seats. Many head can be seen. The 'Uchiha Sasuke betrayal case' is such a big event that everyone wanted to hear and witness. _

"_Ehem!" Kakashi faked a cough and suddenly, people were all ears. Team seven sets their heart ready for anything that might come._

_But when Sasuke felt a gentle yet tight grip on his right hand, he started not to care at all. He focused on the warmness her hand was giving him—security, comfort, unspoken promises. He didn't hear voices at that very moment. All he could hear was his loud heart beating fast and the heat forming on his cheeks. Time stood still. He didn't hear anything about his probation nor the heavy sighs of relief Naruto and the others made. He didn't hear any of it. He was trapped in his own world._

_And the gripped her hand for more warmth like there was no tomorrow._

* * *

The dancing pink flowers were seemingly teasing him as he stared at them.

"I've always liked to hold your hand..." he murmurs as the gentle wind answered him by swinging a cold flash of air that passed through him.

It was those same hands that were always there to grab on.

* * *

_He wakes up with a sweaty face and body, widened eyes, shallow breathe and a shattering heart. He pants, heavily. He smacks his chest with his fist repeatedly wishing the pain to ease. There was just too much blood, he could see blood everywhere._

_Where am I? Where am I?_

_He smacks himself again and again. He doesn't feel pain._

_Where is it? Where is it?_

_I can't feel it. _

_Where is my pain?_

_He screams._

_He rolls over his bed again and again until he drops and hits the floor face first. It still didn't hurt. Where is my pain? Shaking, he stood up, looked around, trembling. He walks a few steps and sees bottles of pills and medicines of different sizes. Angered, He swings his hand to smash it and they crash on the floor. He pulls out the curtains and tears them apart. He breaks the mirror into pieces._

_He sees himself in different angles; he stares at those broken mirrors._

_He cries._

_Blood in my hands! _

_My brother_

_Orochimaru_

_Kabuto_

_Those innocent people_

_Their blood in my hands! _

_Blood! _

_Blood!_

_Blood!_

_Why? _

_Why?_

_Why?_

_She enters without fear for she has bagged a ton of understanding. She touches him and he trembles, he does not look at her. She smiles at him and he does not look. She tucks his astray raven hair behind his ear and still, he does not look. There was silence for a moment._

_She offers him her hand and he finally looks at her._

_He grabs onto her hands like there was no tomorrow._

* * *

Quack. Quack. Quack.

There were now ducks invading the pond as the doves fight for their place. From the top of the hill where he is sitting, he could see them all. He smiles. It somewhat amuses him. He takes a mental note to go and see more of nature's display. Maybe, go to the zoo one of these days.

Hesitantly he said, "...we could have seen the zoo together. I know you might love it there."

Sasuke remembers she owns the same hands that he was willing to hold forever.

* * *

_They were staring at each other. He was taking his time and time she gave him. She was not in a rush though, but he is. Time for him seemed to be running out. Time was simply dissolving on the palm of his hands._

_And then, on day, it just came, he said it out of the blue._

"_Marry me." There was no extravagant diamond ring that neither matched his sentence nor was the kneeling position._

_She might have been surprised but she wasn't. She looks at him right in the eye. They say that a man's eye is the windows to his soul. But even in this window, Sakura couldn't reach nor peek onto his contents. _

"_Bear my children." He tried when she didn't answer him the first time. It didn't sound like it was a proposal at all instead; it sounded more like an order and a threatening command. But what would you expect form the great Uchiha Sasuke anyways?_

_Her silence meant a lot. Maybe she was doubtful. No, he couldn't and would not digest that thought. And here, Sasuke tries again for the third time but his voice became mellow and somewhat pleading._

"_H-help me…resurrect my clan…" there was that slightest hue of pink in his cheeks._

_It was already unbelievable that Uchiha Sasuke proposed to her, but it was more suprising that he kept asking when she wasn't saying anything. Normally, the Sasuke-kun she knew would walk out of the scene and burn the training grounds or beat the hell out of Naruto to release his pent up emotion. But this Sasuke-kun didn't leave nor sent Naruto to the hospital instead he asked her again and again._

"_I want you to carry my name…"_

_Finally, she flashed him her infamous smile and held his hand. She made him kind of embarrassed enough._

"_But of course."_

_And he tightened his hold on her hand, as if there was no tomorrow._

* * *

As the wind continued to sweep his face and the scent of Sakura flowers continue to tease his nose, he lies on the ground and started admiring the clouds.

What made him propose to the Haruno Sakura still puzzles him up to this moment. Those proposals just kind of slipped out of his lips and they didn't stop. He didn't even made any effort on taking back what he said. Sure she was pretty and smart but she was also small and moody, not to mention her not so average forehead. The emotion that made him say those things was a mystery. Could it be love? No, he didn't believe that. For they both knew that he was going to use her as a tool to create more Uchiha's in this world.

Though he would never admit it, the process of procreation became fun and exciting. He admires her. And he is glad that only he could devour that woman on his bed. Whenever she fells asleep, he would caress her face in a gentle manner and thank her again and again. He was clearly lucky for having him in his life. Call him selfish but he would do anything to keep those gentle and warms hands intertwining with his forever.

But sometimes, when Fate decides to play with you, you always end up losing.

* * *

"_How is she?" Sasuke asks, eyeing the door behind her._

_Tsunade sighs in exhaustion. "not good Sasuke."_

_This causes his brows to furrow and clench his fist. If only he was there! If only he was there when the ambush happened! If only he knew! If only he was there to protect her! If only…_

"_She's barely hanging on…" there was sadness in her eyes too. _

_He closed his eyes._

"_The baby's gone."_

_The pang of hurt ran through his body like electricity. The baby—the baby… is gone.. the clan… his first step… abolished…_

_There was no need for words to be uttered to understand how he was feeling. She could clearly see it from the way his eyes darkened and his body became rigid. There was no need to elaborate how he felt and she clearly understood right away. "You can see her now."_

"_Aa." And he did._

_He entered the room slowly, preparing himself for the worst scene he might see. Slightly peeking his head, he noted that she is awake. Bandage after bandage has wrapped her fragile body. And that dextrose connected to her didn't give him any comfort at all. He sits on a chair on her right, in level with her body._

_He notes her red and swollen lips and her bruised face. She even looked paler. He could also feel the heaviness she was feeling. It hurt, he knew. He had been on life-threatening situations as well. Someone was going to pay for this, he swore._

_She looks at him and tries to talk but only puffs of breath would come out of her mouth. She would try again but he cut it short when he touched her hand._

"_You should rest."_

_In their intertwining hands, they understood one another._

* * *

As he looks at the clouds harder, he could see different shapes and forms reveal from it. Hanging out with Nara Shikamaru was taking its toll after all.

He suddenly talks. "I've always wanted to be a father."

There was a pause.

"I've always wanted a family of my own."

There was a frown.

"Why did you have to go away?"

* * *

_She was not doing well. She was nowhere near fine. She even said she felt like dying. And there was that stupid feeling Sasuke was having again. His chest felt like it was constricting too hard making it hard to breath. His whole body was numb. He couldn't feel anything._

_Don't leave me!_

_She told him that the end was coming near. She was seeing a white light. He was frantic. He didn't know how to say goodbye, much less let her go. _

"_When I'm gone… I want you to still talk to me…" she smiled._

_He frowned. "It wouldn't be the same."_

"_How so?"_

"_You're the one who's always talking and telling stories. So it would feel awkward to talk to a tombstone."_

_Sakura closed her eyes. "Ah, talk…"_

_She opened them again and stared at him. "Tell you what, when you come and visit me, you'll talk and I'll listen."_

_His heart hurt._

_And he held her small hands like there was no tomorrow._

* * *

"Sasuke-kun!"

That loud and screeching voice made him stood up. How could he forget that voice after all these years? There was a ghost of smile playing on his lips as he watched this woman try her very best to reach the top of the sloppy hill Sasuke was on. She wobbled and he had difficulty in doing so as he prevented dirt to stick to her pretty blue dress. It amused him. This girl never knew that word quit'.

"Aa." He greeted as she reached the top and rested beside the Sakura tree.

Yamanaka Ino smiled as she touched the tombstone inches away from the Cherry Blossom tree. There was still incense burning and fresh flowers laying on it. "So, this is where you've been hiding all this time? She beamed him a smile.

He glances at the tombstone. "Aa."

"Mou! You're actually supposed to be with Naruto right now! As his best friend and his best man, you have to help the groom with the preparations." Ino lectured.

Sasuke pocketed his hands. "The dobe can handle himself. He's a big boy now."

She pouted. "Hey! Naruto is going to get married to Hinata! You should at least be happy that he finally had someone who would be willing to spend the rest of her life with that dope! It's actually a miracle! So, you shouldn't be in your 'uninterested mode right now Uchiha! Go get your butt right there and accompany your hysterical best friend!"

He gently touches the tombstone and closes his eyes.

Ino felt kind of sad. "Saying goodbye?"

"Aa."

He held out his hand for her. "Let's go." And she gladly took it. But her hands were way different than hers. Ino's hands couldn't give him the strength, comfort and love that he mostly needed. Things that her hands could only provide.

After all, Yamanaka Ino is not Haruno Sakura.

* * *

"Oi Teme!" a blonde tall man wearing a tuxedo approached him.

"Hn." Sasuke greeted back.

"Don't you 'Hn' me! Where were you? I've been looking all over for you! My wedding can't be complete without my best man!"

"Your wedding starts in two hours! You're just too excited."

Naruto laughed nervously. "Maybe I just am! Hey! I only get to get married once you know!" Sasuke smiled too. "Aa." Of course. You only get to marry once.

"So, you visited her again?" Naruto asked, somewhat careful.

"Aa." There was still sadness inside of him and he couldn't hide it all. Everything was just obvious.

"Hey, cheer up! It's not like it's the end of the world right?" he injected, trying to wash away the depression he was feeling. But it was futile.

"Hey, Naruto, could I borrow Sasuke-kun for a moment?" much to Naruto's surprise he was more than happy to give him to her. After all, she was the only one who could put a true smile on his face.

"Of course!"

* * *

"What is it?"

"You were up there again aren't you?"

He avoided her gaze. She cupped both his cheeks. "Look at me Sasuke-kun." And he did. He found the most beautiful pair of green eyes there is. "I know you're sad about the baby but you don't have to blame yourself for it. Things happen for a reason. And the baby girl we lost would not wish her father to lock himself in sorrow. Instead, she would want you to be happy."

He touched her hand. "I thought I would lose you too."

Formerly Haruno Sakura, now known as Uchiha Sakura smiled at him. "I was injected with drugs to help fasten my recovery Sasuke. I was delirious at that time. I said things instantly as they cross my mind at that moment. In fact, that was actually eleven months ago Sasuke-kun!"

He gripped her hands and slightly leaned on it. "But still—"

"I get it! You were worried…"

Slowly and sneakily, he encircled his hands on her petite waist and buried his face on the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent.

"Don't leave me…" he murmurs lightly yet she still heard it.

"I won't."

With the Sakura tree blowing on top of that hill. Its petals flew prettily, painting the atmosphere pink. And beside it is a marble tombstone. An Uchiha enemblem carved on it with an 'Uchiha' written on it.

As the incense died and the flowers bloomed, a smell girl prettily sat beside the tombstone, caressing it gently. She had black hair and green eyes. And she was wearing a bright smile.

Sakura looked at her husband as they walked hand in hand towards the Uchiha manor. Naruto's wedding was a success. Everything went well. And his teammates couldn't be happier for him.

"I talked to Tsunade-shisou this morning.' She hesitantly said. He glanced at her and ushered her to continue. "The results came in today." That caught his attention. They abruptly stopped walking which caused her to feel uneasy.

He locked eyes with her dear wife. His onyx eyes met with shinning emerald ones. "…And?"

She flashed him one big and bright smile. "I'm pregnant."

There was relief and joy forming in his heart and he felt a lump forming on his throat. He couldn't say anything. But then, he smiled too.

And he held her hand tighter, not wanting to let go, as if there was no tomorrow.

Uchiha Sasuke wasn't blind. He wasn't deaf nor was he numb. Because as he looks at his wife, He could see happiness, a happy family in the future. And he would do anything for her to stay right beside him. Come neither hell nor water, he would protect her and his future family. He knew that these unknown feelings inside of him finally got a name.

These feelings inside of him were indeed true love.


End file.
